OH school lets transgender grad dress as female

FOSTORIA, Ohio (AP) — A transgender student in northwest Ohio will be allowed to follow the female dress code at Sunday’s graduation despite a conflict with school policies.

Chris Calderon-Perez (kal-deh-ROHN’ peh-REZ’) tells the Fostoria Review Times (http://bit.ly/17dKmGP) that Fostoria High School principal Tom Grine has allowed the exception after consultation with district officials.

Calderon-Perez, who was born male but lives as a female, was initially told she would be required to dress as a male to participate in commencement. The 17-year-old said that felt “completely awful” after living as a female for the past two years.

Grine said he only sought to enforce the dress code laid out in the student handbook. That conflicted with a school board nondiscrimination policy updated in March to include gay and transgender students in protected classes.